Diving into the world of seventeenth-century piracy, "The Ghost Ship" sets sail with a thrilling narrative of adventure, romance, and vengeance. Kate Mosse, renowned for her captivating storytelling, delivers a mesmerizing tale of high seas escapades and daring exploits.In the heart of the Barbary Coast in 1621, the enigmatic Ghost Ship silently prowls the waters, manned by a fearless crew hailing from diverse corners of Europe. Their mission: to hunt down pirates and liberate the enslaved victims of their brutal raids. Yet, amidst the perilous waters and clandestine missions, the crew harbors secrets that could cost them their lives.At the helm of this epic saga is Louise, the granddaughter of the Reydon-Joubert family, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and defiance against societal norms. As she navigates the challenges of her inheritance and her passion for the sea, Louise crosses paths with Gilles, a wine merchant's apprentice, sparking a romance that defies conventions. Together, they embark on a quest filled with intrigue, danger, and hidden agendas.Mosse's meticulous research breathes life into the historical backdrop, seamlessly weaving together elements of history and fiction. From the bustling streets of France to the exotic locales of Amsterdam and the Canary Islands, "The Ghost Ship" paints a vivid portrait of an era marked by adventure and intrigue.While part of the Burning Chambers series, "The Ghost Ship" stands on its own as a captivating standalone novel. Mosse's mastery of storytelling shines through, captivating readers with every twist and turn of the narrative. Whether you're a seasoned sailor or a history enthusiast, this tale of defiance, love, and legacy promises an exhilarating journey across the high seas.

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Kate Mosse

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

4.5/5
Thanks to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

Time for some high seas' adventures!! I so, so enjoyed this third installment of the Joubert Family Chronicles, but how could you have left me not knowing what happened on that ship!!??!! Seriously!! So now the waiting begins......

The Ghost Ship continues with the focus moving on from Minou and Piet, to their granddaughter Louise, as she comes into her inheritance and fights to live her life on her on terms and not those set down by the men of her world. She loves the sea and with the blessings of her aunts, she has purchased one of the merchant ships that travels between Amsterdam and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and she dreams of being able to captain the ship one day. The conflict between the Huguenot and the Catholic church has receded a bit into the background as tensions eased for a while, but they begin again to threaten to spill over into violence soon. In addition to fighting for her place in the world, old family tragedies come back to the fore and this story becomes a more intimate look at how the feud between the Joubert and Vidal families continues to alter lives forever.

I love that this book expanded beyond France and Amsterdam and added a whole boatload (sorry, had to!!) of new characters that so added to the story. Especially the addition of Gilles and the relationship between him and Louise is so wonderfully done. The time spent on the ship along with the different encounters and the action scenes were so good, totally ramping up the tension throughout. Technically, this could be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading them in order as you end up feeling so connected to this family as their journey takes them all over the world. This is an outstanding historical fiction series and I so need book 4 so I can find out what happened and what happens next!!!

The pacing of this book just didn't work for me. I found the first 100 pages incredibly slow and it didn't pick up much from there. Though this is the last book in a trilogy, I found that it didn't wrap things up in a satisfying way. I enjoyed the other books in the series more. I will give Mosse another chance when she comes out with something new.

After reading the synopsis of The Ghost Ship I was instantly intrigued and had been wanting to pick up a historical fiction book that wasn’t set around WWll. What I didn’t realize when I picked up The Ghost Ship was that it’s the third book in the series and having not read the previous two books I feel you can read it as a stand alone. There was enough information provided in the beginning of the book to give me some highlighted insights to the previous books which center around the main character’s grandparents and their early history. This book was throughly researched and written taking the reader on a high seas adventure in a time of unrest and expansion.

The main character, Louise, is well ahead of her times in her desire and ambition to break societal norms for women of that day and age. I would be remiss as to not point out that she did not do it alone and walked side by side with her trusted aid and companion Gilles, also ahead of their time, and the crew of The Old Moon.


Thank you @minotaur_books @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this gifted arc in exchange for my honest feedback.

Although I had read the first two in this series, this third one is greatly different from the first two. A person definitely wouldn’t have to read the first two in order to read this one. I have found that this series in particular, and maybe is the case for the author in general, have a lot more slower paced plots. While I was incredibly engaged a majority of the time, it was somewhere around the 80% mark where I was starting to lose my focus of it. Some of the “conflicts” seemed to swiftly wrap up throughout the novel which may have caused my focus to sway. Nevertheless, the book’s ending was worth getting to and I enjoyed this little part of history. Although I would say more liberties were taken for the pirate aspects of the story that felt less “historical”. All this to say that I still really enjoyed it but didn’t find myself feeling as compelled to dig into the history of France, Amsterdam and the catholic/protestant conflicts like the previous two

This was the first book that I have read by Kate Mouse and I really enjoyed her writing style. The characters and the scene building were so realistic and it was easy to follow the plot and feel engaged to the story. I felt that it worked very well as a stand alone novel but the book hooked me into this series and I can't wait to read the first two books. I also liked how it touched upon the difficult themes of the time period including how women were treated in the various locations that Louise visited.

Louise is a powerful and independent woman of her time, and sails her own ship. I appreciate the extensive research that was done in the writing of this book. The story was very engaging and I really enjoyed it.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn’t realize this was the third book in a series until I started reading the book. In spite of that, it read very well as a stand alone.

Set along the Barbary coast in the 1600’s, a woman named Louise becomes captain of the ship she owns and sets out to thwart the pirates who a dealing in the slave trade. Louise is very unconventional and it makes life more difficult for her during those times.

Eventually she is caught and tried for murder, but instead of hanging, she is ordered into exile. Louise sets off once again and readers are left with questions about what became of her and those aboard her ship.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am pleased to give my honest review.

This is my first book by this author, but now I want to read more of her books! I really enjoyed the characters in this. I loved the authors writing style as she writes with such passion of the era and this books has some great themes.

I enjoyed this tale of a woman restless at the strictures of her time. However I struggled to really get into the story. It starts focused on our main character Louise's grandmother and only really gets to Louise's part of the tale by 15-20% of the way through. Then Louise's story is broken up by another (which makes more sense once they meet as adults but as separate childhood backstories they seem very distant at first.) Right when Louise finally starts coming into her own as a character and taking charge of her own life, we get a prologue of another character who is trying to find her many years later as she vanished off the face of the earth. We are left hanging and wondering what became of her and if she really did overcome her struggles and live life on her own terms.

Also the prologue/intro is repeated in full when it comes up as the start of the climax of the story which was a little odd. It's like the author expected her audience to either skip the intro or just forget somehow what happened.

I did greatly enjoy the romance, although I found it overly restrained, much like the rest of the story. I too chafed against the bonds placed on Louise by her society and time. It made me very glad to be born now innstead of then.

Overall it was too long and far too slow and tried to focus on several generations of women which made it very long-winded. A tighter focus would have made it a faster more interesting read witout losing any of the affection for the characters.

The narrator did a good job bringing such a slow and restrained story to life. I really felt Louise's frustration and the men's smugness.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing an early copy for review.

Full Disclosure: I received a copy of The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

The Ghost Ship is the third book in the Burning Chambers series by Kate Mosse. It is not necessary to read the first two books before this one unless you want the backstory of the family that leads to the main character in this book. This book goes in a new direction: pirates! I loved that the main character, Louise, not only pursues her love of sailing to the point of captaining a ship but that she uses her wealth and privilege to take on the worst of the worst, slavers. Louise ends up bucking societal norms than more ways than that. You can't help but cheer her on even though you know she plays a dangerous and deadly game.

The third installment in Mosse’s The Burning Chambers series, THE GHOST SHIP is billed as an adventure on the high seas. But there wasn’t nearly enough seafaring for me 🫣

Each book in the series follows a generation of the Joubert family, Huguenots living in France, where they were often persecuted. I enjoyed dipping back into their story and learning about a new family member, Louise. Louise is headstrong, independent and inquisitive, pushing against the boundaries of the time. I loved her personality and strength of character!

Louise has always loved the sea, and so has Giles, her love interest. Their love of exploration and freedom draws them together, and their love story was so tender and sweet. And queer! Love some queer representation in historical fiction. It was beautiful to see Giles living as he desired, with Louise and her family’s support.

However, I do think this book could’ve been a tad shorter. There is a lot of set-up and background that takes up a majority of the book, so only a quarter of it is really spent on the high seas. It was a delight to see a woman captain her own ship, and I loved all the pirate bits. I just wanted more!

I’m curious if Mosse will continue with the series. There was a bit of a hint towards another book at the end, but we shall see. In the meantime, I’d love to dip into her backlist. Her writing is so lush and comforting to me, and I’d love to explore another time with her as my guide.

I had a few false starts with this book and considered DNFing it, but once the POV shifted to adult Louise I began to enjoy her and Gilles' story. It was interesting to see their relationship grow and develop while knowing their "secrets". It was especially fun to have a ship Captained by a woman, when women were barely allowed on ships. It did feel a little long at times, and then the ending was a bit rushed. I should also note that I was not aware this was part of a series when I picked it up and chose to read it as a standalone novel.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportuntiy to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This is the third book in the Joubert Family Chronicles. This author writes haunting stories that transport you to a time and location that alothough unfamilair feel known somehow. I will say, I liked the first two books more than this one, but this was a great read.

This is the third book in The Joubert Family Chronicles which follows a multi-generational family from the 1560s to the 1620s with a tangled history to the Huguenots a group of French Protestants in conflict with the Catholic Church and settings from Carcassone, France to Paris, Amsterdam and now The Barbary Coast. This is my fourth read by this author and as always, I am thoroughly impressed with the extensive research into the time periods integrated into fantastic plots rich with religious-political entanglements.

This book can be read as a standalone and is told in third person primarily following the life of Louise Reydon-Joubert, who was raised by her maternal grandparents Minou and Piet, main characters in the previous books. I enjoy the brave and adventurous character of Louise and it was good to revisit Minou and Piet later in their lives.

While the religious conflict is lesser in this story, Louise still faces the life of a woman during these times which is only seen as meaningful if she is a dutiful wife and mother. Women who do not follow these rules are “unnatural”. Louise has the means to support herself and no intentions to marry. She dreams of a life at sea as captain of her own ship but is told no man will follow a woman at sea. Amidst these dreams hovers the possibility that her finances may not be as settled as she thought and there may be another heir to her family fortune.

The story also follows the character of Gilles Barenton. After the death of his twin, Gilles is sent by his manipulative mother to become his uncle’s heir. He is conflicted between his affection for the uncle who has taken him in, mentored and treated him with respect and his duty and fear of his abusive mother and her machinations. In a moment of weakness, he confides in Louise who only wishes to help and their story becomes entwined by actions that will follow them as they journey to sea together and fight for the rights to live their lives by their own will.

I especially enjoyed the story of the Ghost Ship and how they came to be entangled in the myth of the story of a ship that liberates slaves. This was probably my favorite of the series. Recommended to readers who enjoy reading about the historical struggles of women.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

The Ghost Ship is an entertaining and well written novel set in the 16tth century spanning from France to the Netherlands and to the Canary Islands with a strong woman who defied the traditional role of women and used her inheritance to sail the high seas as captain of her own ship.
I have heard of Kate Moss but I have never read anything by her. I hesitated to. read this book since it was third in the series but I am glad I did because I found a new to me author that writes very interesting, realistic historical novels. I can tell when an author has done good research for the story and it was evident in this book. Ms Mosse did her homework. I also appreciate the summary of previous books so if you haven't read them, you can read this as a stand alone..
I haven't read many books set in the 16th century so that was a nice change. I knew what was happening during that time period though thanks to world history classes. I liked Louise. She was her own women and didn't follow the traditional rules for women. There is a lot of adventure, obstacles and danger to be found and she met them with her determination to achieve her dream.
There is plenty of adventure and romance to please just about everyone who enjoys a good read and I recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good adventure tale. I read it during tte. summer and it was a perfect read .
Thank you to Net Gallery, Publisher Minotaur Books and author Kate Moss for this great adventure read. My opinion is my own. and given freely and with enthusiasm.

Terrific - Mosse at her best. Evocative, chilling, beautifully written. Will be recommending for sure. Thank you for this title.

The Ghost Ship is book 3 of the Burning Chambers series.
This was an interesting read with interesting characters and filled with action. The author does a great job bringing the characters to life. Definitely a series to look into if you enjoy historical stories.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An interesting story set at sea and pirates. I wasn't sure that I would like this, just couldn't grasp the idea of a female captain in the 1500s. I couldn't be more wrong...I really enjoyed this tale.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.